"The Stars and Stripes Forever" has a history and legacy that might surprise even many devoted Sousaphiles. Delving into it only deepens the march's resonance, at a moment when every part of the American project is worth contemplating.

The brilliant trumpeter Clifford Brown died in a car accident on June 26, 1956, at 25. The anniversary of his death invites a reflection on its ripple effect, and how he's remembered today.

He was one of the most famous musicians in the United States in the first half of the 19th century. But Francis Johnson, a Black, native-born Philadelphian, was almost swallowed by history. Here's how it happened, and how it's being redressed.

The most important figure in the development of mallet percussion was Clair Omar Musser, a native of Lancaster County. His legacy lives on in a remarkable facility at Kutztown University, where we recently joined Gary Burton for a tour.

Leading The Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski developed a signature sound that has been revered and nurtured by his successors.

John Szwed wrote the definitive biography of Sun Ra almost 30 years ago. As a new documentary revives interest in the visionary artist and interplanetary being, Szwed revisits his subject, considering what he means today.

A century ago, they were a marquee duo. Today, guitarist Eddie Lang and violinist Joe Venuti are known only to jazz connoisseurs — but their story, originating in an Italian enclave of South Philadelphia, deserves to be widely known.